Will Pfeifer: 'Make 'Em Laugh' disappointing but fun

Comedy, as the saying goes, isn’t pretty. Sometimes, in fact, it’s not even funny. But thankfully, even when it’s not, it’s usually still pretty interesting.

Will Pfeifer

Comedy, as the saying goes, isn’t pretty. Sometimes, in fact, it’s not even funny. But thankfully, even when it’s not, it’s usually still pretty interesting.

Which is my decidedly unfunny way of starting this review of “Make ’Em Laugh,” a three-DVD collection of the six-part series that just aired on PBS. Though wildly ambitious — the subtitle is “The Funny Business of America,” and it reaches back almost a century — it’s a frustrating viewing experience.

Part of that frustration comes from the series’ strange organization. Instead of breaking things up chronologically or by medium, “Make ’Em Laugh” creates its own categories and forces the comic talents into them, whether they fit or not. Instead of putting, say, the Marx Brothers in one category, the series files Harpo under “The Knockabouts,” Groucho under “The Wiseguys” and ignores poor Chico completely.

Also, “Make ’Em Laugh” tailors its history to fit the interviews. Do we really need a long, involved history of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” dominating the “Satire and Parody” section? Probably not, but producer George Schlatter was more than happy to sing the show’s praises.

Trouble is, there’s almost no one from Mad Magazine and no one from National Lampoon, which means these icons of print satire — more daring and influential than “Laugh-In” — are virtually ignored. And where the heck was The Onion?

Despite all that — and here comes the punchline — “Make ’Em Laugh” is worth watching. Take away the convoluted categories, the unfunny Billy Crystal intros and the tepid talking heads, and you’re left with a slew of great clips spanning the 20th century. Want to see Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase face off on “Saturday Night Live”? Laurel and Hardy move that piano up those stairs? Buster Keaton risk death by falling house? They’re all there, and they’re all great.

‘Being There’

Though some Britons, like Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, are profiled in “Make ’Em Laugh,” one who isn’t is the late, great Peter Sellers. Best known for his “Pink Panther” movies and revered for his triple-threat performance in “Dr. Strangelove,” Sellers toned things down for his last memorable movie, 1979’s “Being There.”

Just re-released on DVD, “Being There” is the opposite of “Strangelove,” a satire so low-key and gentle that it barely seems like a satire at all. Sellers plays Chance, a simple-minded gardener who’s tossed onto the street when the owner of his house dies.

He stumbles — literally — into the life of Benjamin Rand (Melvyn Douglas), a dying power broker who mistakes dimwitted Chance for a plain-speaking genius. Soon Sellers is advising the president (Jack Warden) and becoming a love object for Rand’s soon-to-be widow, Eve (Shirley MacLaine).

Written by Jerzy Kosinksi (based on his novel) and directed by Hal Ashby, “Being There” is the sort of movie you don’t see much any more, full of subtle jokes, gentle laughs and quiet observations. It’s very good and has a truly memorable final shot.

Contact Will Pfeifer at wpfeifer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1244. Read his Movie Man blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/movieman/. See video reviews by the Movie Man at rrstar.com/multimedia. See if you can Beat the Movie Man in our Oscars contest: go.rrstar.com/beatthemovieman.